In computer science, it is said that premature optimization is the root of all evil.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Focusing on premature optimization leads to larger problems.
- In plain terms
- Optimizing too early is harmful.
- What can you take from it?
- Delay optimization until after correctness is proven.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is early optimization justified?
- How to balance speed and correctness?
Another view
Some early optimizations can be necessary in constrained environments.
More from Larry Wall
There are a lotta computer languages out there doing drugs.
Permalink to quote #284 [Boxed] Multiple bouncing balls in a box are a metaphor for community. Notice how the escaping balls explode. This is what happens to people who move from Perl…
Permalink to quote #286 If there's a particular problem that Perl is trying to solve, it's the basic fact that all programming languages suck. Sort of the concept of original sin, app…
Permalink to quote #283
Related quotes
Optimizations always bust things, because all optimizations are, in the long haul, a form of cheating, and cheaters eventually get caught.
Larry WallLarry Wall quote #315 If the pros at Sun had had a chance to fix Java, the world would be a much more pleasant place. This is not secret knowledge. It's just secret to this pop cult…
Alan KayAlan Kay quote #12 People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.
Alan KayAlan Kay quote #20